Rebirth of a Saga
by Nuova Luna
Summary: A short one shot that is set before Lara crashes in the Endurance during the new Tomb Raider 2013/Reborn. It introduces subtle elements that are found in the two official trailers and hopefully sets the scene nicely for March 5th! (Although it is 'complete' I may publish a series of short stories that feature 'new' Lara so check back soon!)
1. Chapter 1

_I hope you enjoy this little story, I have built it around elements found in the Reborn trailer and introduce some of the historical facts that I believe may appear in the new Tomb Raider. Roll on 5th March!_

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"Lara over here", A fair-haired woman shouted across the thumping bass line of another mass-produced 'dance like an idiot' song that the resident DJ had a love affair with. Twisting around on her stool Lara saw her friend waving frantically in front of two rather attractive looking young men.

Not again, Lara thought as she took a gulp of her drink, how many times do I have to save her from her matchmaking ways. Knowing that there was no way that she could escape this time, Lara slid of the stool to see what Rose had in store for her now.

"Lara! Come on! This is Luke," Rose declared theatrically pointing towards the taller of the two who nodded his greeting, "and this," Rose paused for effect, "is Gerard". Gerard smiled and turned towards Rose who was still grinning like a child in a sweet shop.

"Nice to meet you...what was your name again?" Gerard asked softly almost drowned out by the music.

"Lara, the name is Lara".

"Yes Lara that was it, Rose has told me all about you".

"Has she now," Lara sighed.

"Oh yes, congratulations on your graduation by the way. Let me get you a drink to celebrate".

"To be honest I really could do with going home soon," Lara stumbled trying to think of any excuse to leave the bar.

"Oh come on Lara, you are going away soon you lucky sod. Have some fun!" Shouted Rose as she flung her arms up in the air drunkenly hitting Luke in the chest.

"Woops Luke I'm sorry," Rose slurred as she propped herself on the nearby wall.

Shaking her head Lara observed the drunken mess her best friend was in. _Thank god university is over_, Lara thought, _I might not have to go on so many of these babysitting trips._

"So?" Gerard prompted.

"Yeah go on then it is only twelve-forty, I just need to make sure Rose is okay".

"She can come with us, let's go to the bar upstairs, it is a bit quieter," Gerard looked over to Rose and Luke to find them sprawled over each other against the wall, "we can sit those two separately." Lara nodded in agreement and started the long process of pulling the two bodies apart and dragging them up the stairs.

Lara hated nights out like this, long hours spent trying to fit in with the mob of revelers and avoiding any unwanted attention. Gerard seemed genuine enough as he conducted a full and proper conversation without any downward stares or wandering hands. Unlike Luke who had already wooed Rose into a one night declaration of love.

"I'm sorry about Rose," Lara said peering over at the bundle of bodies.

"Don't worry about it, Luke is just as bad. I know how you feel." Laughed Gerard. "So Rose said you were going away? Where are you going?"

"Just off the coast of Japan, near Tokyo. We are hoping to find out some information about Kublai Khan, he was the first non-Chinese Emperor to conquer all of China but little is know about his fleet that he sent eastward. It just disappeared into thin air". Lara took a sip of her drink wondering if Gerard would even be interested in all this ancient history.

"Never heard of him, but he sounds pretty interesting, did you read archeology then?" Asked Gerard.

"I did, I'm pretty lucky that I have been chosen for this this trip. The guy who is running it, Conrad, he's a tough fellow and my research must have impressed him somewhere along the line". Thinking back Lara began to wonder how exactly Conrad Roth had found her. Her dissertation examined the possibilities of an Atlantean Scion which was praised by her superiors, there was a chance that he read that. Pushing her thoughts to one side Lara sat back and hoped that one day she would have the time to do her own archeological work and become as respected as Conrad is.

"You seem like an intelligent woman I'm sure you'll will." Gerard said as though he were reading Lara's mind, "you are like a little Nathan Drake exploring the world!".

"Thanks," Lara laughed, "I doubt I'll be getting into that much adventure though!". Looking at her watch Lara realised that it was probably time to head home and begin preparing for her trip on the Endurance. Bidding farewell to Gerard and dragging Rose away from Luke, Lara began her journey home walking in diagonals instead of straight lines.

**OooO**

Sitting cross-legged on the deck of the Endurance Lara flicked through her leather journal. Inside lay many notes, coordinates and doodles of Kublai Khan's imagined artifacts. For the few days before the trip Lara had practically lived in the university's library building dens of books and cursing Conrad that he hadn't provided her with a photocopier card. It was nice being out in the fresh air.

"Hey Croft have you found anything yet?" Came a voice from the door.

"Not yet, but I think we are getting towards the right area if you look at these sonar scans." Lara passed Conrad three images that showed strange shadows on the sea floor.

"Interesting, but you need to do better than that. Keep going." Conrad ordered passing the images back.

"Conrad you do know we are entering the dragon's triangle?" Questioned Lara.

"And?"

"And don't you think you should be careful around here?"

"I am being careful, we have more lifeboats than the Titanic!" Responded Conrad sarcastically, "Come on Lara you're a Croft behave like one".

Watching Conrad stomp back into the vessel Lara sighed as the wind brushed through her hair. _What does he mean? I am a Croft, haven't I already proved that with my research?_ The sun was beginning to set and deck turned pink with the fading light. Taking a sip of tea Lara looked out into the sea that ebbed along like a choreographed corp de ballet, calm and elegant. The mug was a gift from the Sisters of Artemis a Swedish Self Defense group that she enrolled in during her traveling phase. She enjoyed her time spent with other like-minded women and at least they were useful skills to protect herself if the worst happened on a night out.

Lara never thought those skills would be useful anywhere else.

A beep cried out from Lara's phone placed on top of her journal. Crouching down Lara opened the message and smiled, it was from Gerard.

_Hi Lara it's Gerard. Hope everything is going well and tell Conrad where to stick his attitude! Be careful and I'll see you when you get back to the UK. Text me if you want to talk and if you go into any tombs steal some gold for me ;)_

"Tombs?" Lara laughed to herself, "I bloody hate tombs!"


	2. Chapter 2

_This story belongs between the night out and Lara on the Endurance in chapter one. I really enjoy writing with the character of Lara 2013 and can't wait for the game so I can write more adventure style stories. I've tried to tie in the classic TRs with this new one, so enjoy finding the references!  
_

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The Packing:

Angry clatters of pans and cutlery from the kitchen below filtered through a worn beige carpet, an unwanted instrument to the hotchpotch of chatter and Radio One found in apartment 503.

"I swear if those two break up again, I'm moving out early." Declared Rose, pushing her strawberry blond hair behind her ears as she tried to calm her temper down. "I want a cup of tea, but if I go down there I'll end up with a pan in my face!"

"Rose, calm down. We will be moving out soon anyway, uni is over and we won't have to put up with them anymore." Lara responded, she found her best friends annoyance quite humorous, especially when it involved the volatile relationships of the downstairs neighbors. She flung a black suitcase on top her bed and continued to sort out random items that had been left in from the suitcases' last trip abroad.

"Can't wait," muttered Rose peering at items Lara was beginning to throw on the bed. "Hey! What's that?" Rose picked up a crystalline looking shard, shaped like a short spearhead.

"Oh just a bit of tat I picked up at a market in Paris," Lara took the shard from Rose, turning it in her hand, "I thought it was pretty".

"It is very nice, you never know, it could have secret powers!" Said Rose as she grabbed a white tee-shirt from the floor and proceeded to make ghoul noises, poking Lara in the arm.

"Rose, behave! Look at it! I paid five Euros; it's probably broken off a vase or something." Lara shook her head and placed the shard on her bookshelf.

The two student archeologists continued their night-time adventure, packing for Lara's impending expedition. Rose was a little jealous how Lara was able to secure a place on a highly publicised archeological exploration straight after university; they had only graduated three weeks ago and Rose was almost begging to be included on any expeditions no matter what the role was. Nevertheless, Lara was her best friend and Rose was happy for her, she just wished she was packing for the Endurance as well.

"You okay there?" Questioned Lara as she noticed her usually talkative friend had gone too quiet.

"Yeah, yeah just thinking what you should take with you." There was no point in moping around, Rose thought, I'll get my time someday.

"You'll get something soon," Lara said gently, as though she could read Rose's mind. "I still don't know how I was chosen for this thing."

"Because you are immensely talented! Roth liked you in Egypt when we went on that dig. Especially when you corrected that tour guide!"

"I can't believe I did that; he was wrong though. Those hieroglyphs clearly said that the amulet was for sealing Set away for eternity, not used as a protective element by Horus and Semerkhet to conceal Set from outside forces."

"And that is why you are going to Japan Miss Croft," Rose proclaimed in the best head mistress voice she could muster up. Lara laughed and continued to sort through her clothes and equipment. She was excited for this trip, even though she was worried about Roth's iron like leadership style. Lara had already spent far too long in the library researching the fleet of Kublai Khan who mysteriously disappeared without a trace; along with mounds of archeological notes from earlier explorers who had been to the area. Lara had also spent some time in the Oceanography department, brushing up on her sonar knowledge. It had been a long time since her first year in the university where she learnt the basics of ocean archeology.

"Are you going to be out to sea for the whole trip?" Enquired Rose as she grimaced at the wetsuit Lara had carefully folded and put into the case.

"I don't think so," Lara said thoughtfully, "I think we may visit some of the small islands and then head to Japan. I hope not anyway! I'd love to visit a secluded island that hardly anyone has set foot on."

"Wouldn't we all! Right, now clothes. Proper clothes, not wetsuit thingys. What have we got?"

"You do know this isn't a fashion show?"

"I know but you need to look the part don't you!" Rose scuttled off to the mountain of clothes in the middle of the room. Diving in she pulled out a turquoise vest top and a pair of brown shorts. "What about these?"

"Rose, I can't wear those shorts they are too short! I'd be cut to ribbons on land if I were excavating."

"They look so good together though, it just screams 'I am an adventurer'"

"I'm just thinking of my legs and diseases!" Lara replied, tugging at the leg of the brown shorts.

"You are such a killjoy Lara,"

"Glad to be of service," Lara saluted as she wrapped a blue thin strapped tee-shirt and laid it in the case next to a leather notebook.

It took all night for the pair to pack one suitcase. Lara knew it would have taken her an hour at most by herself, but she enjoyed spending time with Rose. Particularly as she knew, in a few short weeks, that she wouldn't see her best friend for around three months. Around one o'clock in the morning, both Lara and Rose collapsed at the side of Lara's bed, nursing a bottle of pinot grigio and giggling about the couple downstairs.

"I'm going to miss this," Rose said rubbing her nose as the alcohol began to take its effect.

"I'll be back soon! Stop being clingy!" Laughed Lara as she untangled her headphones.

"Don't you dare lose those headphones in the sea! I saved up forever for your birthday!"

"I won't I promise." Lara smiled.

"Talking of presents I have something for you." Rose sat up on her knees and reached over to grab her handbag. Flopping back down again, she rummaged around the cavernous bag and pulled out a small jade pendent on a leather cord.

"Oh Rose! You shouldn't have!" Lara took the necklace and examined its simple design. It was jade, Lara could feel its coldness, shaped into a swirl with a small animal face in the centre.

"It's a Hei Koru, it represents the unfurling of the fronds of the New Zealand silver fern. So because of that it symbolises a fresh start, a new life, personal growth, and positive change. I thought it was pretty apt for the start of your career and Japanese adventure. An awaking I suppose."

"It's perfect, thank you so much." Lara placed the necklace around her neck and proudly showed it off to Rose.

"No problems! I know what you are like with your symbolisms. Now, where did we stash that other bottle of wine?"

The two archeologists sat up all night debating what their future held for them, how life could change them. For Lara, her future was closer than she could ever imagine.


	3. Chapter 3

_This was inspired by a thread on the eidos TR forum where we speculated what the ending would be like, I came up with a brief idea that I have expanded on here. _

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Run. That was all Lara could think of. Run, don't look back, never look back. To do so would mean she had to look at herself, what she had done and who she had become. How she had survived, she would never know; skin blistered from the internal furnace inside her, a cocktail of blood, sweat and damnation. The hard ground became sandier as Lara and her mentor Conrad Roth pushed themselves towards the sea. Lara knew that Roth had very few steps left in him as he wheezed and tripped over the smallest of stones. She wasn't upset because they were here, on a remote island off the coast of Japan, she could contend with that now. It was the ritualistic slaughter to what she had to know as a family that twisted her inside, creating a pain that laughed at the visible injuries that adorned her body. Lara grabbed Roth's arm as she pulled them through a dense collection of branches, reopening old wounds on their weathered bodies. It was sundown, the orange sky flooded through the broken branches as Lara ran to the edge of the ridge collapsing at its peak. Peering up through damp hair stuck to her face, she saw a sight that infused a hidden determination, a Japanese fishing boat slowly ebbing its way towards the shore.

"Roth! We did it! We bloody did it!" Lara cried, referring to the fire arrows they had sent from the high peak only an hour ago.

"We did Croft, we did." Roth croaked weakly as he sat beside Lara, "We must hurry, the wind is high and we can't risk aggravating anything else in this damn place". A deep cough came from Roth as he rose on his knees and began to make his way to the beach below. Nodding, Lara fired another lit arrow into the pumpkin sky before following Roth down the pebble slope.

Something wasn't right, Lara thought as she meandered down the makeshift path; the wind picked up brushing Lara's bloodstained ponytail against her shoulders, the hairs on her arms prickled in anticipation. The beach was deserted apart from a small bonfire that flickered in the heightened win.

"Wait, Roth," Lara began as he edged towards the fire. "This is all wrong."

"A fire means someone is alive." Roth spluttered as he gazed into the amber light.

"No. No-one is left. Listen to me..."

A thin black trail of smoke rose from the fire.

"Roth. Please move!" Lara begged as the smoke trail twisted and spun into intricate spirals. It was a futile effort as Roth stood entranced by the interlacing smoke. Wrapping around itself, a figure of a human appeared, flowing between the two adventurers like the softest chiffon.

"An enenra," Lara whispered as a memory of lecture on Japanese mythology came flooding back with nauseating speed. A monster composed of smoke who can only be seen by the pure of heart.

"Roth, Look at me!," Lara ran to Roth's side, shaking him vigorously as he continued to stare into the distance, his eyes glazed over as the enenra flooded his lungs.

Suddenly the smoke twisted itself around Roth, knocking him to his knees as he screamed in agony. Silence for once was louder than any sound Lara could think of. Roth lay still on the sand, the sky tinting his face with a peaceful glow. Lara gazed upwards towards the black chiffon assassin who took away the last person on earth she cared about.

"That's it." Lara whispered as she took out the pistol and fired it at the entity. The bullet skimmed through hitting a rock on the far side of the beach. The enenra mocked her futile effort by pushing her chin up with its feather hands and throwing her to the ground. The saltwater stung her old wounds as Lara screamed in pain. _I'm not going to die, not now._ She tried to remember what she had read, how could she make the enenra mortal? A small crystal caught the corner of her eye that had fallen out of Roth's pocket.

"The Shisubeki crystal..." Lara gasped as she crawled though the gritty sand. It seemed like an eternity since she had picked up the purple crystal at the bottom of a mountain tomb, yet it was only a few hours. The smoke arms wrapped themselves around her legs dragging her backwards as Lara fought to retrieve the crystal. It took pure survival strength to heave herself to the last hope of escaping from the island alive. She stretched out her arm and snatched the shard, throwing it into the fire making the flames flicker in vivid shades of violet and indigo. The enenra howled as it spun like a tornado becoming a fully fleshed human. A woman, dressed in a dark grey kimono that trailed behind her akin to a wedding train. Her ebony hair flowed wildly down her back while her eyes were absent of a pupil, creating a savage appearance.

"I know who you are Lara," came a haunting voice in Lara's head.

"Get out of my head!" Yelled Lara as she pointed her gun at the enenra.

"You Lara are gifted, extremely gifted."

"You have took everything I care about away from me, how dare you taunt me with your praises!"

"Join us. Be immortal, live your potential."

"Immortal?" Lara paused, "You don't know what that means".

A single bullet escaped from Lara's pistol as it tore through layers of smoky silk and flesh. A shattering sound filled the air as Lara was knocked back by the explosion of violet smoke. Curling up to protect herself from the blast, she bit the side of her mouth, praying that she would survive. Peeking from her fetal position, Lara saw that the only inhabitants on the beach were herself and Roth. The fire had burned itself out, the crystal becoming a burnt ember.

"Konnichiwa, konnichiwa!" Came a female voice from the fishing boat that was now dropping it's anchor.

A tear forced itself through as Lara slowly rose to look towards the boat. Too many emotions were flooding her body now and she didn't know how she really felt.

"Roth," Lara mumbled as she edged towards her mentor, her friend. "Wake up, please Roth, wake up." Lara notice that his chest moved slightly on hearing her voice.

"Lara."

"Oh my god, you are alive." Lara exclaimed.

"Not for long, please, Lara. Follow your heart, you know what you have to do. What you are born to do."

"I'm a Croft, I know what I need to do, who I am. I know now."

"The extraordinary, is in what we do, not who we are. Remember..." Roth closed his eyes and drifted away to the sound of waves swishing around his body.

"Roth? No, no, no, don't go. Please stay, stay you northern bastard!" Lara hit his chest in a futile effort to revive him. The wind had calmed down to a gentle breeze that fluttered her hair across her temples as she realised she was now truly alone.

The woman from the fishing boat threw a rope down indicating that she should come aboard, it was obvious that the Japanese woman couldn't see Roth's body as she was still smiling happily from the deck. Conrad Roth was at heart a free man, a treasure hunter, he always joked on board the Endurance that he would die an adventurer. The irony twisted itself in Lara's stomach as she picked a single maple leaf that had blown on to the beach from the forest above. She place it on his chest and closed his eyes, the last act of kindness she could give him.

The sky remained orange, though it was now a deeper hue with flecks of black as night approached. Lara knew her life had changed, she knew inside her that it is her actions that made who she was. Too many questions had gone unanswered on this island, she owed it to Roth to answer them.

Lara began to walk of the beach towards the fishing boat, the hard deck looked like the comfiest place in the world to sleep to her tired limbs. Her toe knocked on something hard, bending down she picked up Roth's pistol that had been knocked out his hand during the enenra's assault. Lara thought about leaving it, out of respect, but what if she was meant to have this. To take a piece of him wherever she went? Lara picked up the pistol in her bandaged left hand, her right held her own. This moment, Lara wasn't a just a Croft. She was an archeologist, an adventurer, a woman of strength, a tomb raider.

"A famous explorer once said, that 'the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are'. I'd finally set out to make my mark, to find adventure. But instead adventure found me."


End file.
